Jeff Gentil: I haven't a clue as to which Bearcat team is going to show up Friday night. The last 3 FBS games have been about as poorly played as any I can recall in the post-Minter era. Thankfully woeful Temple comes in and hopefully the Bearcats can build on Saturday's promising second half offensive display. Couple that with a supportive Friday night home crowd and the Bearcats get back on track 34-14. I hope. Heaven help us if they lay another egg.
bearcatlair: Man I don't know about a "supportive Friday night home crowd" There are 3 mega games around the city Friday night that a lot of fans won't pass up, like the Colerain vs. Sycamore (5,000+) and the Lakota West vs. Fairfield (5,000+) games, big games to determine the GMC championship, bigtime playoff implications, etc. UC has never drawn well on high school football Friday. Also got LaSalle vs. St X (at least 4,000), Moeller vs. Elder, (another 8,000 in the pit) and Winton Woods vs Loveland (2 undefeated D2 schools that draw well). Lots of huge playoff and league title implications type of games, leaving Nippert Stadium back in the 20,000 fans or less days I am afraid. UC 28, Temple 21 in a game with 15-20K in attendance, welcoming back the pre-Big East attendance days.
Matt Dumont: It's telling that we're headed in the 6th game and I don't know a damn thing about this team. Did they dominate Purdue, or is Purdue just that bad? Was it just so miscues in the USF game or is UC really that bad? At this point I guess I'll just go with the old "coaching transition" excuse. I'm not really confident picking them at all, but 27-14 Bearcats win.
republicofcincinnati: I've predicted blowouts up to this point and have been let down, yet, I feel confident that we'll see a different team this week.
I expect more up tempo, more Tion between the tackles, and less drops from the WR corp in front of a supportive home crowd decked out in RED.
Also, I expect a huge improvement (could it get worse from last week?!?) from our special teams.
All of these will add up to a bloodbath for Temple...sorry, Owls...lots of frustrations will be taken out on you Friday night.
Bearcats - 37
Owls - 10
Matt Opper: Cincinnati 35 Temple 24. I still think that the tendency for Bearcat fans to take a couple of bad showings and turn it into an apocalypse is maddening. Its the same general vibe that allows the city to go from relaxed and calm to utter unremitting chaos with the simple addition of an inch or two of snow. Still, there are warning signs that this year could turn bad in a big way. I think the Bearcats have too much for Temple, particularly on defense going against a freshman quarterback. But I have no confidence or interest in making bold proclamations.
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